From the Valleys Newsroom...

Recycle Even More!

The Welsh Government is awarding £335,000 to Rhondda Cynon Taff council to help increase the amount of waste it recycles and ensure Wales remains ahead of the rest of the UK when it comes to recycling.

The funding will be used for an education centre, waste dewatering centre, a new shredder for recycling steel springs and to support a new energy park at the Bryn Pica Waste Management site.

The Welsh Government is providing up to £3million funding to eight Local Authorities across Wales through its Collaborative Change Programme.

The announcement comes as a new report puts Wales as the third best recycling nation in the world.

The report published by Resource puts us third in the municipal recycling world rankings behind the leaders Germany and Taiwan. The figures also put us closely behind Germany as Europe’s second best recyclers.

Our latest quarterly statistics published in February show that Wales continues to lead the way in the UK when it comes to recycling. The figures for the 12 months ending September 2016 show the average combined reuse, recycling and composting rate across Wales’ 22 Local Authorities is 62%. This is an increase of four percentage points on the same reporting period from the previous year.

The figures for the 12 months ending September 2016 show the average combined reuse, recycling and composting rate in Rhondda Cynon Taff is 63%. This is an increase of four percentage points on the same reporting period from the previous year.

Wales as a whole is now recycling double the amount it did a decade ago and continues to be used as an example of good practice for other UK nations.

Welcoming the latest recycling statistics and announcing the financial support for Rhondda Cynon Taff, the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths, said:

“It’s great news that we are climbing the recycling ladder and this is testament to the continued efforts of Local Authorities and householders’ commitment to recycling. It has not been easy but we have made major changes and are now recycling double the amount of waste we recycled a decade ago. We are making excellent progress, with the latest provisional figures revealing we are, exceeding the current 58% recycling target set in our strategy Towards Zero Waste.”

“I’m pleased we are providing up to £3million to support Local Authorities for improvements which will help to boost recycling rates even further and support us in our ambition to become the highest recycling nation in world.”

Who Are We?

GTFM serves Pontypridd and RCT County Borough in South Wales, centred where the Rhondda and Taff Valleys meet. It’s an area famous for it’s coal mining heritage, plus Male Voice Choirs and Rugby alongside Tom Jones and The Stereophonics!

GTFM echoes it’s area’s ‘larger-than-life’ personality and directly encourages listeners to get involved in the community, especially through volunteering.

It’s ‘Music of your Life plus local news’ approach has made it the market leading radio station in its primary area, which in turn helps GTFM ‘make a difference’ in the communities it serves.

Founded in 1999, GTFM started full-time broadcasts in 2002 as part of a Radio Authority ‘Access Radio’ trial on a not-for-profit basis, later becoming a registered charity and the first Ofcom Community Radio licensee Wales in 2006.